Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

While many may look at online learning as a recent innovation, the roots of distance learning in the U.S. run deep. As early as the 1800s, clergymen studied by way of correspondence and home study programs, especially for women, flourished. By the early 20th century, educational institutions from colleges to elementary schools offered correspondence classes. Each new technological advancement, including radio and television, was used as a medium for more distance learning. Today computers and the Internet provide the foundation for a new generation of distance learners. The needs of gifted learners at the elementary and secondary levels make the opportunities offered by distance learning particularly suitable.^[1]

The National Center for Education Statistics recently estimated that the number of K-12 public school students enrolling in a technology-based distance learning course grew by 65 percent in the two years from 2002-03 to 2004-05. A 2009 survey estimated that more than a million K– 12 students took online courses in school year 2007–08. A panoply of online learning opportunities is available. They range from courses taken only for enrichment or preparation for future classes to accelerated or honors classes that provide students the chance to earn high-school credits from the students’ local schools. More recently “virtual schools” have proliferated, e.g., Stanford University Online High School. These schools grant degrees and diplomas. (The U.S. Department of Education has an online guide, , which offers case studies of a variety of online learning opportunities in Part III. In addition to the opportunities found through , has an extensive list of distance learning programs, as does the .)

Several university-based gifted student programs offer distance learning opportunities for elementary and secondary students, the most prominent being The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University (pre-K – 12), the Talent Identification Program (TIP) at Duke University (grades 8 – 12), the Center for Talented Development (CTD) at Northwestern University (grades 4 – 12), Stanford Online High School (OHS) (grades 7-university level) and GiftedandTalented.com (K – 12). Courses range from the standard – e.g., Anatomy & Physiology (with a virtual laboratory and experiments), Economics, foreign languages, and AP© courses – to more exotic offerings like The Wonders of Ancient Egypt and Making Moby Dick.

There are also state programs. The Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) Academy, for example, offers an integrated curriculum for gifted students in grades 5 – 8 that blends online learning with face-to-face meetings (approximately three times a quarter). The classes are intended to replace a quarter of language arts, history, science, or math curriculum for students in over 75 school districts throughout the state. In 2011, the Academy served almost 1,600 students.

The delivery and instructional methods of online learning are similarly diverse. Originally, most of these courses were self-paced and basically an independent study class. With the advent of more and more technological advances, contact between teacher and students and between students themselves has increased. Hybrid models of instruction now include virtual class meetings, discussion forums, live text-chatting, real time face-to-face meetings, and interactive white board instruction, among other methods.

There are several advantages to distance learning. Perhaps the most important for the gifted student is the ability to choose from myriad advanced courses not available at the students’ own schools or via home-schooling. These needs are particularly acute in the rural and low-income schools where problems range from a lack of resources (everything from teacher training to textbooks) to a lack of a critical mass of gifted students that would make in-school accelerated classes economically feasible. And that is another benefit. A key challenge to keeping gifted learners engaged and growing is exposing them to peers who are just as advanced. Those distance learning classes that require student interaction allow students to do just that.

Another advantage would be more personalized learning. While the variety of courses allow the students to craft a curriculum closer to their interests, the hybrid models of distance learning allow for more one-on-one attention from the course instructor, according to a 2009 survey by Education Week. Because of its more independent nature, distance learning also allows students to move faster through the curriculum and at their own pace.

In addition, 21st-century skills are enhanced through distance learning. These enhanced skills would include self-directed learning, problem-solving skills, information and communications technology literacy, and time-management and personal responsibility. For this reason, among others, the state of Michigan now requires that every high school student complete an online course before graduation.

Several studies have found that gifted students have been successful at distance learning and satisfied with the experience. A U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis of the available research concluded that “[o]n average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” Some positive effects that they found included enhanced independent study skills as well as increases in students’ problem-solving abilities, collaborative learning skills, and higher-order thinking skills.

That same U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis also concluded that caution should be used in extrapolating its findings to the K – 12 population. Even less attention has been devoted to studying younger, i.e., pre-secondary, students. Subsequent to that meta-analysis, one major study looked only at students enrolled in the Johns Hopkins University CTY distance education program from July 2005 – March 2007. One major difference was that younger students took courses because of an interest in the content of the course rather than to obtain credit or placement. Another major difference was the emphasis students placed on the relationship with their instructor, suggesting the critical importance of instructor-led courses for these students.

Not all gifted students will achieve in a distance-learning format. To begin, students need to be self-disciplined and experienced with working independently. Perhaps critically, students need to be willing to ask for help since teachers do not have the advantage of non-verbal clues to pick up on student confusion. Of course, strong study and computer skills are also a necessity. Finally, the physical presence of an adult and the support of a parent are also necessary for distance learning to be effective.

A major drawback to distance learning is often isolation and its effect on social skills. Nonverbal communication is extremely limited in this setting where a greater emphasis is given to writing, technological skills, and independent learning. However, the trend is clearly towards more active involvement in these courses as the technology evolves.

Those students who reported being dissatisfied with distance learning often cited a lack of interaction with teachers. Another common concern voiced was the lack of traditional textbooks and written course materials as many courses rely only on computer technologies. Therefore students need to assess their own learning styles and then choose courses wisely.

^[1] The terms “distance learning” and “online learning will be used interchangeably throughout the body of this blog. “Digital learning,” which is not used herein, is quickly replacing both of these terms.

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Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

Now that my daughter is a high school senior and headed off to college in the fall, among the items I worry about is whether we have properly prepared her to be academically successful there. At first blush, the idea seems absurd. We have read to her since she was a baby, provided intellectually stimulating activities while limiting television and electronics, even sent her to an elite boarding school. What else could we possibly have done?  While it is too late for me, don’t let it become too late for you: Teach your gifted child good study habits.

Many gifted students have never really experienced a true academic challenge during high school, especially those who were not enrolled in special schools, even if they have taken AP or honors classes. For them, education is the memorization of facts to be regurgitated at a later date. Therefore, when these students encounter the more rigorous and demanding curriculum of college, they may be without the effective study skills and habits necessary since colleges require more application of concepts rather than just memorization of facts. () Most students look at studying as simply re-reading or restudying class material that was not very challenging to begin with.

This type of study experience will only lead to boredom and frustration. Therefore, if your child is not challenged in his or her regular classes, provide challenging material and projects yourself. Although many experts recommend making this material interesting as well, it is probably best to provide a mixture of both subject matter that your child enjoys and subject matter he or she finds less interesting. Life requires us to persevere and use our study skills in both situations.

Here are some important study skills gifted students need to acquire:

1. 1. Time management – often gifted students have been able to still succeed while procrastinating and completing assignments at the last minute. Help your child learn to:
      • study at a regular time every day and week – make it a habit;
      • set a daily, weekly, and semester schedule, assigning amounts of time to each subject or project;
      • be sure to revise this schedule periodically;
      • prioritize goals on a daily basis – priorities will change as deadlines approach;
      • break long-term projects into short-term attainable steps.

1. 1. Motivation – help your child to:
      • recognize the “real world” application of the material being learned, e.g., a poetry analysis develops not only analytical skills applicable across a spectrum of occupations, but the creativity employers emphasize and  21st century jobs require;
      • define success as learning new material and working hard, not getting an A on an assessment. Praise effort.

1. 1. Organization:
      • find a place free of everyday clutter to study;
      • visit office supply stores to get an idea of all of the possible products available to help with organization;
      • let the student select the organizational method (your method may not work for them);
      • realize the first choice of organization aids may not work and another method may need to be tried.

1. 1. Studying in chunks:
      • try not to study for longer than 25 minutes as studies show the brain struggles to concentrate on a specific topic for longer than that;
      • break for about five minutes at a time, no longer;
      • if possible, change your environment when you change subject or topic, e.g., study for the math exam in the bedroom and the literature exam in the kitchen (it will help your brain to recall and organize information);
      • start with a harder subject/topic and then alternate with easier ones.

1. Note-taking:
   • take notes when listening to a lecture. (Practice with a TED lecture online if the content presented in class is too easy);
   • develop an abbreviation and punctuation system that makes sense to you;
   • use indentation and white space on the page to separate and organize information;
   • consider a formal method of note-taking, e.g., Cornell notes;
   • check your notes as soon as possible after taking them to make sure they are complete and coherent;
   • re-write your notes as a way of reviewing for an assessment;
   • use mnemonic devices to help recall information from notes.

Two very helpful sites for finding more information about study skills and strategies are and . Dartmouth College has for those who are visual learners.

In some ways, being gifted can sometimes seem more like a curse. Developing study habits is one way to combat that.

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Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

Grit. I’ll admit I didn’t have it. Twice now I have put this blog down and stopped writing because I felt uninspired and bored. Weeks have gone by, and too many times to count I have ignored that voice telling me the deadline was approaching and I needed to get finished. So how essential is grit to success, and more importantly, how do we teach our children to get it?

“Grit,” otherwise known as persistence or determination, is currently a passion (some would call it a fad) in certain educational circles today. Angela Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist, is a leading advocate of the importance of tenacity in life. Watch for a fascinating explanation of the results of her research in the area. Basically, she concludes, based, among other things, on her research of West Point graduates and National Spelling Bee contestants, that what correlates with success most is grit, not intelligence. Similarly, in the area of gifted students, the most famous study, conducted by University of Connecticut psychologist Joseph Renzuli, director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, concluded that “task commitment,” together with ability and creativity, was, indeed, one of the three essential components of giftedness.

Duckworth believes that grit can be quantified. Her University of Pennsylvania website has a . (My score was a 2.25 on a scale of 1 – 5 ,with 5 being the grittiest, and concluded I am “grittier than at least 1% of the U.S. population.” Ouch, no wonder I can’t finish this blog.)

So what can we do to ensure our children will have grit when they need it?

First, stop praising your child for his or her intelligence. A Stanford University study found that children praised for their intelligence learned to care more about their grades than about learning on subsequent tasks, and after failing, they were less persistent than their unpraised peers. Instead, praise your children for their hard work and determination. Also emphasize to your children that intelligence can be improved through hard work. Another Stanford study concluded that students who believed that intelligence is malleable earned better grades during the next two years than those who believed that intelligence was fixed. (Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychology professor, has a designed to measure to what extent you believe that success comes from effort rather than innate intelligence or talent.)

Next, show kids the effect of grit in the real world. Everyone, for example, has heard the story of how Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team but continued to practice. Other examples might include Steve Jobs, who failed at several Apple projects and ended up losing control of the company for several years, and Andrew Wiles, a mathematician who ultimately proved Fermat’s Theorem after years of failure. Of course, as always, modeling for your children where you have used grit to be successful may be the best teacher. (Maybe I can get my daughter to read this.)

Watch for when your child becomes frustrated. Use this as an opportunity to discuss the everyday nature of frustration, and explain to him or her that this is an opportunity for growth.

Finally, according to Paul Tough in his book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power Of Character, the best thing to do to develop the character of our children is to let them experience failure. As he states,

American children, especially those who grow up in relative comfort, are, more than ever, shielded from failure as they grow up. They certainly work hard; they often experience a great deal of pressure and stress; but in reality, their path through the education system is easier and smoother than it was for any previous generation. Many of them are able to graduate from college without facing any significant challenges. But if this new research is right, their schools, their families, and their culture may all be doing them a disservice by not giving them more opportunities to struggle. Overcoming adversity is what produces character. And character, even more than IQ, is what leads to real and lasting success.

So now that this blog is done, maybe it’s time to get that unfinished novel out again and prove Duckworth’s test wrong.

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References

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1087.

Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (GRIT–S). Journal of personality assessment, 91(2), 166-174.

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House LLC.

Dweck, C. S. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Psychology Press.

Tough, P. (2013). How children succeed. Random House.

Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

“You can be anything you want to be” is a cliche we all will probably tell, or have already told, our children at some time in their lives. For the gifted child, this statement may be closer to the truth. But having too many skills and abilities and multiple interests can be overwhelming, and what exactly does “anything” mean? How do we help the gifted student to understand what the “anything” is and to find the right career match?

To begin, two caveats: technological innovation and economic globalization have brought about swift change to the practice and outlook of many occupations and will continue to do so. Therefore, the goal of much early career planning should be to explore and understand the nature and variety of work available, not to choose a specific career. At most, paint in broad strokes and identify career areas that a child may want to enter.

Second, children’s interests often change as they mature. What once lit that flame of enthusiasm in 8th grade may have diminished by junior year of high school. That is natural. Expect your child’s passions to ebb and flow as he or she ages, becoming exposed to and participating in life’s experiences and learning more about themselves.

At the elementary school age, children need to just learn about the world of work in general. Begin by explaining your own job, both the advantages and disadvantages. It is called work and not play for a reason. Then have other relatives and friends explain their jobs and what they like or dislike about them. Ask your child to picture himself or herself in that job and what he or she would like or dislike about it. Try to stay away from the salary as a motivating factor. (The need for financial literacy is a topic for another day.) When you are out in public, point out the people working. Speculate with your child about that occupation’s advantages and disadvantages and how he or she would enjoy it. In all these situations, ask how the job contributes to society and what needs of people it meets.

Another way to begin discussion about possible employment is to connect current events with the world of work. Discuss, for instance, what occupations might have been affected by the drought in California or the political instability of the Middle East and how.

As children enter middle school and high school, research becomes important. An excellent resource is the . Another place for extensive information on careers is . Both sites break the work world into fields like Architecture and Engineering, Computer and Information Technology, and Business and Financial. They then provide information on the tasks involved in the career, the working conditions, the size of the occupation, the expected rate of growth and future prospects, the training involved or expected, the earnings, and the career ladder among other things. Other useful websites include , , and .

(A career in the military should not be ignored, though this is another topic best left for another day. Perhaps surprisingly, Forbes lists the three service academies among the top 30 on its “America’s Top Colleges List.”)

Don’t forget to use your library’s resources. Some helpful sources include the Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance (R331.7 ENC); The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (R371.42); and Career Discovery Encyclopedia (R331.7 CAR). There are also many books on specific careers or career fields. For instance, there are books about nursing and books on careers in health care.

Of course, job shadowing provides some of the most realistic evidence of what a job is really like. This is as close as you can come to actually practicing the occupation. It can also dispel common misconceptions formed through such sources as television. For example, many children are surprised that the career of a forensic scientist is nothing like that seen on the CSI programs. Many companies now have formal job shadowing programs. Be sure to check their websites. But don’t be afraid to just call a business informally, as most companies will be happy to allow someone to job shadow. Contacting the human resource department is often a great place to start as is using relatives and acquaintances to network. Prepare for the experience by researching the occupation as outlined above and preparing a list of questions to ask. Don’t forget to send a thank-you note afterwards.

As the ancient Delphic maxim states, “Know thyself.” Once a child matures and can accurately identify and understand his or her personality, interests, skills and values, self-assessment becomes a critical part of the career exploration process.

Personality tests help students to understand themselves. One of the most common, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), divides people into four dichotomies: Extroversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. These results are then used to place people into 16 personality types, e.g., INTP or ESFJ. Personality types can be matched with occupations that fit them. While the actual MBTI requires a certified professional to both administer and interpret (See for more information), a similar Jungian personality test may be taken for free at .

Interest inventories like the Strong Interest Inventory can provide additional information about self. Social scientists have found that interests in activities related to the world of work can be divided into six categories: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Combinations of these interests can be matched with various careers. For example, scientists tend to have strong interests in the areas of Realistic and Investigative while architects tend to be interested in the areas Artistic, Investigative and Realistic.

Of course, it is not enough to just be interested in a career; you must also have the necessary skills and abilities. The U.S. Department of Labor to identify a child’s skills that it then matches with careers that require that skill set. You can also start by identifying an occupation and then take a shorter assessment focusing only on the skills required by that occupation.

One final area, which is often ignored in the career exploration process, is work values. Satisfaction with one’s job is not just that it suits one’s personality and that he or she is good at it, but that it is similar to one’s values. For example, how important is it that the job provides recognition in the form of promotions or praise or that the job contributes to the betterment of society. Ultimately, this area might be the most crucial one leading to a long and satisfying career.

Picking the wrong career can lead to lifelong dissatisfaction, even burn-out, and waste the potential of the gifted child. To conclude with another cliche, “knowledge is power,” the power to avoid just such a situation.

Do you know a gifted high school student interested in learning more about a potential career field through hands-on experience? Check out !

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Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

For a variety of reasons, considerable angst has been created among educators, academicians, politicians, and parents by the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by 46 states. (Some states are even in the formal process of revisiting that decision.) For now, the standards only apply to English/Language Arts and Mathematics. The impact the adoption of the CCSS will have on the education of gifted students is open to debate.

The CCSS were developed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers to provide a clear standard of what students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. The standards are aligned with college and career expectations and attempt to establish uniform goals across the US based on best practices.

For those looking at the glass as half full, the standards raise the bar for all students through their emphasis on more rigorous content and higher-order thinking skills. , “Too many advanced students languish in today’s classrooms with little rigor and much repetition. With careful planning, the new standards offer the prospect of improving the classroom experience for high-ability students in significant ways” (2010). For example, reading levels for the various grades based on have been increased, and leveled text examples in the standards documents are significantly more complex than most states’ previous curriculum. Those advanced students in the regular classroom setting who have previously not been differentiated for should be significantly more challenged. Also, the establishment of clear grade-level standards should allow for the compacting of curriculum for advanced students.

For those looking at the glass as half empty, ammunition comes from both the words of the developers and the language of the materials written by the developers themselves that accompany the standards. According to the article , Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University and a member of a Common Core K-12 Standards Development Team, claimed, “The Common Core is about raising the bottom half.” Other relevant comments in the are the following:

• “While the Standards focus on what is most essential, they do not describe all that can or should be taught.”
• “The Standards set grade-specific standards but do not define the intervention methods or materials necessary to support students who are well below or well above grade-level expectations.”
• “The Standards do not define the nature of advanced work for students who meet the Standards prior to the end of high school.”

Obviously, then, the CCSS do not directly address the specific needs and circumstances of the gifted and talented student. Furthermore, many advocates for the gifted community fear that the increased rigor of the standards will lead educators to conclude that no further differentiation is necessary for gifted learners. Others fear that some school districts will use the advent of the tougher standards to reduce or even eliminate the accommodations presently made for gifted children.

One question that remains to be answered is the impact of new grade-level assessments that are currently being designed in most states to align with the standards. As has happened in the past, assessments may still set the bar too low and not permit a proper measure of just how well the gifted learner can perform.

As a high school English teacher myself, I can tell you that the biggest problem in the next few years will be teachers’ ability to find the time to differentiate the curriculum for advanced learners when they are still learning the standards themselves, designing curriculum for the regular classroom to implement those standards, and then designing assessments that align with the standards (as well as all the other tasks we teachers currently complete like grading papers and contacting parents).

So what should parents advocating on behalf of their gifted children do? Come prepared when you meet with your child’s teachers. First, familiarize yourself with the new standards. They can be found at . The National Association for Gifted Children has published three teacher’s guides to differentiating curriculum: Using the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts with Gifted and Advanced Learners, Using the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics with Gifted and Advanced Learners, and Rigor for Gifted Learners: Modifying Curriculum with Intellectual Integrity. Review the suggested activities, etc. in these books and then meet with your child’s teachers. These guides, in general, stress the importance of pre-assessments, tasks with greater complexity and creativity, interdisciplinary assignments that allow gifted students to meet several standards at once, and more open-ended assessments. Such assessments would allow for more than one correct answer and have real-world application, e.g., choosing which character in a novel would make the best friend and then explaining why.

While the CCSS does provide more rigor and aligns the new curriculum more closely with gifted education pedagogy, applied too rigidly, the standards could have the ironic result of reducing rigor and limiting learning. Working with your child’s teachers to differentiate will help to ensure the standards help rather than hinder. Parents will still need to advocate on behalf of their gifted child to ensure that he or she is sufficiently challenged.

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Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.

One of the problems with “conventional wisdom” is that it is often wrong. Remember the one about how the earth is flat? No? How about how you shouldn’t swim for an hour after eating because you would get cramps? Which brings us to the topic of today’s blog: the conventional wisdom that the nongifted sibling(s) of a gifted brother or sister suffers because of the relationship: the gifted child gets more attention from parents, teachers and relatives or gets more resources, or just the inevitable rivalry and competition that occurs between siblings in a situation where the nongifted sibling(s) will feel inferior and thus less happy.

The problem with this conventional wisdom about gifted and nongifted siblings is the research says it is just not true. Perhaps the largest study was conducted back in the 1990’s by Diana L. Chamrad and Nancy M. Robinson, PhD, and reported in the Gifted Child Quarterly. They studied 378 sibling pairs, ages eight to 13, where one sibling was gifted and the other was not. The authors expected to find that “the nongifted siblings were more anxious and depressed, that they were poorer students (relative to their ability), and that they thought less well of themselves and were negatively disposed toward their brother or sister.” Instead, the study concluded that “it is actually, if anything, an advantage to be the brother or sister of a gifted child!” [Emphasis in original.] Some of these benefits were decreased anxiety in younger children with an older gifted sibling, gifted children viewing their siblings in a more positive light than nongifted children do, and more positive sibling relationships for both when one was gifted and one was not than if neither sibling were. A study conducted in Israel and reported in the December 2009 issue of Gifted and Talented International found a similar lack of negative consequences.

So why the common wisdom that children with a gifted brother or sister will suffer because of that fact? Maybe because of the tendency to want a ready answer for the unavoidable sibling conflicts and rivalry that arise in almost every family since Cain and Abel.

And does that mean the parents of a family with both gifted and nongifted siblings need do nothing? No. Some advice: avoid labeling children as “the brain” or “the athlete” or “the social butterfly;” avoid excessively praising the gifted child either directly or through talking about him or her in the presence of the nongifted sibling; don’t give special privileges to the gifted child at the expense of the nongifted, e.g., don’t excuse him or her from chores to devote more time to enhancing interest areas developed and spurred by his or her “giftedness;” and finally, teach all siblings that “fair” does not mean “equal,” i.e., each child is unique with different needs at different times, and you will strive to meet those needs.

Managing family dynamics is never easy, no matter what the relationship between the siblings is. Sibling rivalry and conflict are perhaps inevitable. But the parent of a family with both gifted and nongifted siblings can rest easier knowing that the conventional wisdom is wrong, so finish that sandwich and jump in the pool. Trust me. You’ll survive.

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Gifted children are unique in so many ways, but are they unique when it comes to depression? The most cited piece of scholarly literature on the psychological well-being of gifted children is “” (Neihart, 1999). This meta-analysis reviewed dozens of findings, primarily from research conducted in the 1980’s and 1990’s, in the areas of giftedness and self-concept; depression, anxiety and suicide; social competence; deviant behavior; and psychiatric disorders. The first piece of good news is that Neihart found that gifted students did not have any higher levels of depression than their non-gifted peers nor, after some early findings to the contrary, that there was any higher prevalence of either suicide attempts or ideation among gifted adolescents. Next, the meta-analysis concluded that anxiety levels among gifted children were actually lower relative to their non-gifted peers. Finally, the research concluded that any connection between giftedness and self-concept was inconclusive, given the variety of factors that affect self-concept. (There was, however, some evidence to suggest that students in segregated gifted classrooms had lower self-concepts than those in only part-time classrooms.)

On the issue of social competence, Neihart found that the gifted population was diverse and that whether a particular child had the necessary social skills to cope depended on “their specific domain of talent, their degree of giftedness, and their self-perceptions or other personal characteristics.” Specifically, he found that the verbally gifted felt less socially accepted and self-important than the mathematically gifted and the extremely gifted were more at-risk than the moderately gifted.

Finally, the author concluded, “Intellectually or academically gifted children who are achieving, and participate in special educational program [sic] for gifted students are at least as well adjusted and are perhaps better adjusted than their non-gifted peers. These children do not seem to be any more at-risk for social or emotional problems. It is clear then from the research that giftedness does influence psychological outcomes for people, but whether those outcomes are positive or negative seems to depend on several factors that interact synergistically. These factors are the type and degree of giftedness, the educational fit or lack thereof, and one’s personal characteristics.

That’s the good news. Now for the bad. First, some researchers question the methodology of Neihart’s study arguing that some segments of the gifted population were underrepresented.

Next, some research, in particular a study by  (Supporting the Educational Needs of the Gifted), suggests that gifted children may be more likely to suffer emotional or social difficulties because of their “overexcitability,” perfectionism, and other differences from the norm. “Poorness of fit” of educational programming was identified in the SENG study as a major component leading to a depressive state because of the ensuing social isolation.

Gifted children appear to be especially susceptible to a type of depression called “existential.” Existential depression occurs when a child (or adult, for that matter) confronts the big issues of life like death, freedom, isolation and the meaning of life. It is sometimes called “what’s the point” depression. Though sometimes the result of a major loss, the belief is that gifted children are more prone to this type of depression because they, on their own, reflect more often on these issues rather than on the more superficial aspects of our day-to-day existence.

Additionally, that highly gifted children are extremely adept at masking the symptoms of depression. Those symptoms include social withdrawal, acting out in an immature manner, “the acute intellectualization of all phenomena, and highly focused pursuits that preclude engaging in a broader social context.” Often, there is a physical component as well, such as ill health and loss of appetite. Gifted children try to hide these symptoms both out of a sense of shame and failure and their perception that they need to protect others from their emotional state as well as the belief that others just would not understand.

What should be done about those gifted students who do struggle with psychological disorders? Early intervention is critical. Treatment for major depression usually includes psychiatric consultation and medication and psychotherapy. Because of the unique attributes of a gifted child, researchers advise finding a clinician familiar with these children. Gifted children who are suffering from “existential” depression are aided by knowing that others, including adults, have similar experiences. Touch is also helpful, whether a hug or just a fist bump. Ultimately the studies returned to the conclusion that a compatible educational fit and a connection to other highly gifted teens create the best possible circumstances for good emotional health.

And, after all, isn’t that what the ÓĹĂŰĘÓƵ is all about?

Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant.